Department for International Development

Democratic Republic of Congo: Ebola

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the spread of Ebola in North Kivu and of the responseto that outbreak by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the World Health Organisation.

lord bates: The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the largest in the country’s history and the second largest on record. The Government of the DRC and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are together leading an effective response in an extremely challenging context with ongoing conflict. Despite some successes, the outbreak is not yet under control, and DFID teams continue to actively monitor and assess the situation.UK Aid has played a crucial role in supporting the response since the outbreak was first announced in August 2018. This support has provided funding and expertise to the WHO for response activities in the DRC and for regional preparedness. Preventing the spread of the disease not only saves lives but also provides the stability necessary for economic growth and security.

Department for Education

Erasmus+ Programme

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current position of the Erasmus+ scheme (1) in this year, and (2) in future years; and in what ways Brexit has affected that scheme.

viscount younger of leckie: The government values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of its vision for a global Britain. Irrespective of the outcome of Article 50 negotiations with the EU, the government wants UK and European countries to continue to give young people and students the chance to benefit from each other’s world leading universities post-exit.Under the terms of the proposed Withdrawal Agreement, UK organisations and participants will continue to be able to take part in the Erasmus+ Programme this year and in the future up to the end of the current Multiannual Financial Framework.While securing a negotiated deal remains the government’s top priority, we are committed to ensuring that organisations, students and participating staff are prepared in the event of a no deal EU exit. To provide more clarity, we published a new technical notice at the end of January, which provides detailed guidance to organisations and students on the UK’s anticipated participation in the current Erasmus+ programme (2014-20) in the event of no deal. The technical notice, attached, can be found at: https://bit.ly/2GaP28y.As is set out in this notice, the government’s underwrite guarantee will cover the payment of awards to UK organisations for all successful (those that are approved directly by the European Commission or by the National Agency and ratified by the European Commission) Erasmus+ bids. This includes projects and participants that are only informed of their success, or who sign a grant agreement, after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and commits to underwrite funding for the entire lifetime of the projects.The UK is open to participating in the next Erasmus+ programme (2021-27). We have been considering the draft regulation for the successor scheme carefully and have been actively participating in discussions on this. Ultimately, participation in the successor programme is a matter for negotiations to come about our future relationship with the EU.



HL14775_Erasmus+_Technical_Notice
(Word Document, 119.5 KB)

Degrees

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of first class degrees awarded by the (1) University of Surrey, and (2) University of Bradford; whether they have had any discussions with those universities about the number of such degrees awarded; and if so, what were the outcomes of any such discussions.

viscount younger of leckie: The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 established a new independent regulator in England, the Office for Students (OfS). The act gives the OfS powers to assess the quality and standards applied to higher education by English providers.The government has made it clear in guidance to the OfS that grade inflation must be tackled. In their strategy, attached, the OfS includes ensuring “qualifications hold their value over time” as a key objective. In December 2018, the OfS published analysis of changes in degree classifications between 2010-11 and 2016-17, which is attached. This includes data on the University of Surrey and the University of Bradford.On 24 March, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education called for universities to end the steep rise of “unjustifiable” first class degrees which is a threat to the world class reputation of the university sector, and risks undermining the efforts of hard working students. The government expects the OfS, when it has its full range of powers, to challenge those institutions that record an unjustifiable rise in the proportion of top degrees being awarded.The OfS’ statutory powers are on course to be strengthened through new regulations due to be laid in Parliament later this year, which will allow the OfS to levy fines of up to £500,000 or 2% of a university’s income (whichever is higher). The UK Standing Committee for Quality Assessment is developing sector-recognised standards to ensure that all degree awards are consistent and fair - due to be completed this academic year. Together, these measures will strengthen the regulator’s ability to challenge universities with unwarranted grade inflation and hold them to account.Any university found to be damaging students’ interests could be subject to sanctions such as placing additional conditions on their registration, fines, or in the worst case scenario removing a university’s powers to award degrees. 



HL14791_OfS_Strategy_2018_2021
(PDF Document, 117.55 KB)




HL14791_Analysis_of_Degree_Classifications
(PDF Document, 1.3 MB)

Agriculture: Degrees

baroness miller of chilthorne domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many agriculture degrees inEngland offer modules on agroecology.

viscount younger of leckie: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on UK higher education (HE).Analysis of HESA’s ‘Student Record 2017/18’ shows that there were 2 HE institutions in England with one or more participants in agroecology[1] modules in the academic year 2017/18. These agroecology modules were all at postgraduate level at either Harper Adams University or Coventry University.Module data for HE provided by further education colleges and alternative providers is not held centrally.  [1] Relevant module titles identified in the HESA Student Record were ‘Fundamentals of Agroecology’, ‘Agroecological Techniques and Practices’ and ‘Agroecological Production Systems’.

Science: Higher Education

baroness miller of chilthorne domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) entomology, (2) soil science, and (3) microbial scienceprofessors, there areat English universities.

viscount younger of leckie: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes statistics on staff at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Latest statistics refer to the academic year 2017/18. Each staff member can be recorded as teaching and/or researching up to 3 academic disciplines[1]. Counts of the number of academic staff and professors involved in the most closely related academic disciplines to those requested have been provided in the table: Full-person-equivalent[2] academic staff by current academic discipline at English HEIs for Academic Year 2017/18  Academic disciplineProfessorsAll academic staffC340 Entomology565F770 Soil Science525C500 Microbiology55445C510 Applied Microbiology555 Source: Department for Education analysis of the HESA Staff Record Notes:Figures are rounded to the nearest 5 in line with HESA’s rounding strategy. Staff can be recorded across more than one academic discipline, so rows in the table ought not to be summed together. ‘Professor’ indicates a member of staff holding a contract which aligns with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association contract level 5A 'Professor'. This may undercount professors because many will fall into more senior levels, e.g. Heads of department.  [1] Academic disciplines are categorised using the Joint Academic Coding System: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c17025/a/curaccdis. [2] The definition for full-person-equivalent is available from the HESA website:https://www.hesa.ac.uk/collection/c17025/fte_vs_fpe.

Students: Loans

lord mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether university income from student tuition fee loans is classed as public or private funds;what legal advice, if any, they have received to this effect; and whether they will publish any such advice.

viscount younger of leckie: The government pays universities directly in respect of the tuition fee loans which are approved for eligible students each year. Students are then legally obliged to repay any tuition fee loans in accordance with the contract they sign when taking out the loan. The Office for National Statistics classifies the money provided by the government to cover tuition fees as a debt for the purposes of the public finances. The government does not ordinarily disclose its legal advice as that is protected by legal professional privilege.

Home Office

Home Office: Fees and Charges

baroness lister of burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 14 February (HL13370), why they have not laid before Parliament the report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration on an inspection of the Home Office Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System’s policies and practices relating to charging and fees within eight weeks of having received it; and when they expect to do so.

baroness williams of trafford: The Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) report on an inspection of the Home Office Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System’s policies and practices relating to charging and fees was received on 24 January 2019.The report will be laid before Parliament as soon as possible. It is important that the Department and Ministers give full consideration of the serious recommendations made in ICIBI reports. In some circumstances, this will take longer than 8 weeks due to the complexity or importance of the recommendations.

Slavery

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether UK Visas and Immigration considers a person’s (1) past immigration records, (2) pending immigration cases, and (3) rule 35 report statements, in addition to the information provided on their National Referral Mechanism referral form, when making reasonable grounds decisions in respect of foreign nationals (a) in immigration detention, and(b) outside immigration detention.

baroness williams of trafford: Reasonable Grounds decisions for foreign nationals in immigration detention are made by trained Competent Authority decision makers. As part of the decision making process information held within the immigration database is considered alongside the information provided by the First Responder in the National Referral Mechanism referral form. Further information is sought from the First Responder where there is insufficient information contained within the referral form.

Human Trafficking

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether potential victims of trafficking who have been released from immigration detention and are awaiting a conclusive grounds decision are required to report to the Home Office.

baroness williams of trafford: Potential victims of trafficking who are released from immigration detention and awaiting a conclusive grounds decision are granted immigration bail and are therefore subject to at least one condition of bail. This can include a condition to report to the Home Office.

Slavery

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many victims of trafficking or modern slavery who have received a positive conclusive grounds decision have been removed from the UK in the last period of twelve months for which figures are available.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office record the number of individuals that have received a positive Conclusive Grounds decision and this information is published Quarterly by the National Crime Agency.As NRM referrals, Reasonable Grounds and Conclusive Grounds decisions are considered separately from immigration enforcement action, there is no central record of those who have received a positive Conclusive Grounds decision and later removed. The Home Office therefore does not collate or publish the data requested.

Cabinet Office

Members: Honours

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria they apply in recommending a Member of the House of Commons for award of a peerage or knighthood; and whether an individual MP's voting record on the withdrawal agreement proposed by Her Majesty's Government to Parliament forms part of these criteria.

lord young of cookham: Honours recognise long-standing contributions to civic society – this should include those who have made significant contributions to public life through their service to Parliament.To place this in context, the most recent New Year's Honours List recognised over 1,100 people for their service from all walks of life and all backgrounds across the United Kingdom.Nominations of political peers similarly reflect the contribution that individuals have made, but also the contribution that they will be able to make in the future as an active member of the Upper House.Individual votes are not part of any such criteria.

Department of Health and Social Care

Autism

lord touhig: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byBaroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 25 March (HL Deb, col 1611), whether the review of autism services will examine the questions of autistic people without a learning disability being placed in mental health hospitals.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: In Building the right support we have a plan to build capacity and services in the community in order to reduce reliance on inpatient care for people with a learning disability, and for autistic people and so that they can be appropriately supported to live in the community. A copy of the report is attached.Supporting people on the autism spectrum or with learning disabilities is one of the four clinical priority areas in the NHS Long Term Plan published on 7 January 2019. This commits to implementing the Building the right support plan in full, achieving at least a 50% reduction in the number of people with a learning disability or autism who are inpatients (compared to the figure in 2015) by the end of 2023/24. The National Health Service national planning guidance requires a 35% reduction in inpatients no later than the end of 2019/20. The Long Term Plan also commits to ensuring that every local economy has specialist community provision. Every local health system will be expected to use some of its growing community health services investment to have a seven-day specialist multidisciplinary service and crisis care to prevent people with learning disability and autistic people, from needing hospital inpatient care.On 5 December 2018, the Department of Health and Social Care announced that we will be launching a comprehensive review of Think Autism, the national autism strategy. We want an autism strategy that works for all autistic people, and that is why, working very closely with the Department for Education, we will be extending the strategy to include children.The review is expected to consider the support offered to autistic people who require inpatient care and the support required to enable autistic people to live well in their communities.



Building the Right Support
(PDF Document, 1.74 MB)

Orthopaedics

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many amputations wereperformed by the NHS in each year from 2014 to 2018.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The following table shows a count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs)1 with a main or secondary procedures2 of amputation for the years 2014/15 to 2017/18.Financial yearTotal FCEs2014-1519,9532015-1620,3562016-1720,9682017-1821,330Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), NHS Digital Notes:A FCE is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. Number of episodes with a main or secondary procedure:The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and four prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. It should be noted that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients undergoing a ‘cataract operation’ would tend to have at least two procedures – removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one – counted in a single episode.

Thiomersal

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government which vaccines prescribed by the NHS contain thimerosal.

baroness hodgson of abinger: To ask Her Majesty's Government when thimerosal was last tested for safety of use in patients (1) below 16, and (2) above 65, years old.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: None of the vaccines currently recommended for use as part of the United Kingdom routine immunisation programme contains the preservative thiomersal.The safety of thiomersal-containing vaccines has been extensively evaluated in studies which have found no evidence to suggest thiomersal is associated with any serious or long-term risks. Such studies have mostly been in young children. The most recent assessment in the Weekly epidemiological record was undertaken by the World Health Organization in 2012, which advised that the available evidence strongly supports the safety of the use of thiomersal in vaccines where required. A copy of the 2012 Weekly epidemiological record is attached. 



2012 Weekly epidemiological record
(PDF Document, 1.13 MB)

Hospitals: Human Remains

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of data from the Human Tissue Authority that over the past three years there were 253 "serious incidents" in hospital morgues where corpses were accidentally damaged, bereaved relatives shown the wrong body, or the remains of unborn babies incinerated against the wishes of the family.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Government assesses data from the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) on serious incidents at quarterly accountability meetings.When these incidents occur they are upsetting for the families of those involved; although they are rare, when they do happen we are assured that the HTA work with establishments to ensure that a thorough investigation takes place, and that improvements are made to reduce the risk of similar incidents happening again.

Patients: Transport

lord harries of pentregarth: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer byLord O'Shaughnessy on 4 April 2017 (HL Deb, col 940), what improvements have been made in the waiting time for hospital patient transport; and what is the average waiting time.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: Patient transport service waiting time data is not collected centrally.The provision of non-emergency patient transport services is a matter for local National Health Service commissioners, including setting performance standards, monitoring performance and taking improvement action where needed. This ensures that services are best adapted to local conditions, and where services fall short we expect commissioners to take swift action.

Incontinence

lord harries of pentregarth: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds incontinence pads provided through the NHS were changed from Attends to Tena; and what tests were carried out as to their relative effectiveness.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: NHS Supply Chain has not changed supply of incontinence pads from Attends to Tena. Both these and other brands are available for purchase from NHS Supply Chain.

Human Remains: Imports

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 19 March (HL14296), what was the outcome of their discussions with the Human Tissues Authority about concerns around bodies imported for display.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Government has had discussions with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) about concerns around bodies imported for public display. We are assured by the HTA that it seeks every assurance that the use of imported bodies for public display is compliant with the legal requirements of their country of origin.

Human Remains: Imports

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford on 19 March (HL14296), what concerns were raised in theirdiscussions with the Human Tissue Authority; and whether they plan to seek to amend the Human Tissue Act 2004 as a result of those discussions.

baroness blackwood of north oxford: The Government discussed with the Human Tissue Authority (HTA) the provisions of the Human Tissue Act 2004, which requires that people who wish to be displayed in public after their death must give their written consent. These provisions do not apply to bodies imported from abroad. The Government is in further discussions with the HTA about any non-legislative activity which the Authority could pursue. There are no current plans to review the Human Tissue Act 2004.